Red Bull Frozen Rush: Off Road Racing Gets a New Address

Red Bull has a completely different take when it comes to conquering the hearts of its fans. The energy-drink producer has taken action-sports to a degree where exhilaration born out of heart-stopping moves.

Red Bull has indisputably dominated the world of action-sports by sponsoring sports events that have taken place in air, on the ground, and in water. So when it comes to perilous ideas about sports, Red Bull is all ears about it and may be that is how Frozen Rush would have come into existence.

This Is How It Started

The conception of Frozen Rush happened when Red Bull converted the ski runs of the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine into an off road track inclusive of the jumps. They had off-road racing champion Ricky Johnson exhibit the ski slopes on one of his trophy trucks. They filmed the entire thing and rolled out the video which became so popular among racing enthusiasts that Red Bull decided to sponsor a competition on those tracks.

January 2014 saw Ricky Johnson along with 7 other racers geared up with their racing teams and their well-fitted trucks to compete for the first Red Bull Frozen Rush competition. The event had approximately 10,000 spectators in the awry temperatures that were below 10 °F.

Ricky Johnson beat Johnny Greaves to the first position in the first Red Bull Frozen Rush Competition. The adrenaline rush created by the event could only be created again with the competition returning to the Sunday River ski slopes in 2015. Bryce Menzies defeated Ricky Johnson and won the 2015 competition.

Vehicles

The trucks used in the race went through light modifications for the racing event. The carburetor jets were replaced with ones that can stand the cold and dense air at the altitude at which the racing was taking place. The Pro 4 four-wheel drive Trophy Trucks were manufactured with an inner liner and were fitted with 35-inch BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A FR2 studded tires. It was noticed that the studs were responsible for shredding the fiberglass fenders of some of the trucks.

The teams had to adjust the suspension and gear ratios of the 900—horsepower trucks to adapt them to the conditions in which the race was taking place. The drivers used heated helmet visors and thicker gloves to face the tough climatic conditions.

Racing Track

The two racing tracks, Broadway and Mixing Bowl, are very identical with the only difference being a hairpin bend and the change in the color of flags to identify the separate tracks. The racers have to follow the two different courses in two laps. The track which is a mile long is in the shape of the figure eight and looks quite a bit like a pear. The track included seven jumps, five turns and two slaloms. An additional over-under jump towards the bottom end of the track had many trucks leaping over the other.

The snow created the biggest obstacle for racers who found it difficult to chalk out the bumps and holes with the snow covering everything. The drivers did find the studded tires to provide a firm grip to the snow which was helpful and increased the safety of the drivers.

Image credit: www.redbullglobalrallycross.com

Change Of Rules

At the inception of the competition it was decided that the trucks will go head-on-head, two at a time, in a bracketed, single-elimination format. However, the practice sessions proved that this may lead to unfair racing because the leading truck always ended up blinding the driver behind with the snow being kicked up from it. This meant that victory was definite for whoever started first. The Red Bull team fixed this by giving a 25 second break between the two vehicles.

This means that the second truck started 25 seconds after the first and if the first truck reached the finish line, the second truck was given another 25 seconds to make it to the finish line. If they reached the finish line within 25 seconds of the first truck, then the second truck was declared the winner.

Frozen Rush 2016

The Sunday River slopes are set to transform into snow-truck racing tracks once again on January 8, 2016. The competition will see previous Frozen Rush winners Bryce Menzies and Ricky Johnson. In addition to this Johnny Greaves, Scott Douglas, Carl Renezeder, Rob MacCachren, Chad Hord, and Rj Anderson will also be a part of the competition. CJ Greaves will be competing for the first time in Frozen Rush 2016.

Conclusion

The exhilarating event has many spectators and a large number of fans who watch the race through live webcasts. The Red Bull Frozen Rush is gradually gaining momentum as new racers join the competition and the audience increases.